Advertising or display device



May 10, 1938. W. J. FRENCH lADVERTISING OR DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Nov. 18, 1936 2 sheets-sheet -1`- May 10, 1938. w. J. FRENCH 2,117,088

ADVERTISING OR lDISPLAY DEVICE Filed Nov. 18,1956 2 sheets-sheet 2 lill i l /J JHM, II 5 `..2

Patented May 10, 1938 UNITED STATES limite ADVERTISING R DISPLAY DEVICE William John French, Nunhead, London, England Application November 18, 1936, Serial No. 111,386 In Great Brita-in October 22,. 1936 11 Claims.

This invention relates to advertising or display devices.

Advertising or display devices are already known in which, in order to secure a realistic appearance of articles portrayed upon a suitable backing, a piece of glossy and usually transparent material, such as Celluloid, is applied thereto.

In some instances the glossy material has been embossed or otherwise treated or shaped to represent the shape and substantially to conform to the contour of an article, object, or any part or thing to be portrayed.

According to the present invention, in order to enhance the realistic effect, in place of covering a coloured or other representation with glossy or other material in the manner above described,

the advertising display device comprises a backing, said backing being provided with an adver- K tising illustration, and a solid transparent body 0 attached to said backing, said solid transparent body being of the form of an article as seen in perspective and covering at least a part of said illustration.

By this means it is possible to secure very realistic representations of articles formed of glass, porcelain, china and other material.

Thus, for example, assuming the articles portrayed to be a more or less ornate glass receptacle having flowers therein, that part of the i1- lustration corresponding tothe receptacle would be formed of an appropriately shaped and contoured solid body formed of glass and having the appearance of said glass as it would appear when seen in perspective.

The glass would preferably be flat upon its inner face, where it contacts with the backing, to which it is secured in any convenient manner, for example, the glass representation may have 40 holes drilled or otherwise formed in it at convenient points, through which rivets are passed, which rivets also pass through the backing and are clenched upon the back thereof. Any other method of attachment may, however, be employed.

If desired, parts of the glass may be rendered opaque .and/o1' may have applied either to the back or exposed surface colour, tinsel or `other material such as may be necessary to secure or enhance the desired realistic or ornamental eiect.

It will be understood that whilst the material hitherto referred to as being employed for repre senting the receptacle or other body is glass, any

55 other material may be used, the particular material selected depending upon the article portrayed, and the effect it is sought to produce.

Whilst it is considered that generally the glass or other body should be solid in order to be most effective, it may be found, under some circum- 5 stances, preferable that the body be provided with shallow cavities or recesses at the back.

Instead of being imperforate, the backing, at the point where the glass or other body is placed, may be provided with an opening or openings which may be covered With transparent or translucent material, either plain, coloured, or otherwise decorated or treated, whereby the effect or appearance of the device may be enhanced by the passage therethrough of daylight or articial light. The contour of the openings may be that of the glass or other body placed over them, or not, as may be desired. The representation in this case Would be upon the back of the glass or other body itself.

In order that the invention may be the better understood, reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating some forms of the invention, and in which:-'

Fig. 1`is a front elevation of one form or" advertising device according to this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of said device.

Fig; Bis a sectional plan on line B-B, Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse sections of glass or other bodies adapted for use with the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a front View, and

Fig. 'l is a section of a device embodying a human figure.

Figs. 8 and 9 show respectively an elevation A and a plan of an advertising device, of which a bottle forms part.

Figs. 10 and 11 respectively show an elevation and cross-section of a device in which the essential feature is a representation of a jelly.

Figs. 12 and 13 respectively show a back View and cross-section of a modied form of a body for use in accordance with this invention.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings, I indicates the backing upon which is delineated a bunch of ilowers. the stems of which are immersed in Water contained in a receptacle.

The backing is appropriately coloured or treated upon the. part representing the receptacle to produce the appearance of the stems and water, and covering said part is a glass body 2 which, in the present instance, is of the outline shown that is to say, it is a representation of the glass as it would appear as seen in perspective, and

has a series of longitudinally disposed ribs a,or beads 3, which, in addition to representing a form of surface decoration more or less common to vessels of the type illustrated, act as lenses and have the eiect of magnifying the matter shown beneath them upon the backing, thus adding materially to the realistic eiect.

Preferably the uncovered part of the illustration is embossed, the embossing at the point 4 being of such height that the end of the said embossed part is more or less coincident with the outer edgev of the glass body, thus furthering the illusion of a hollow body from which the stalks of the oWers emerge. It is to be noted that the body 2, which is of substantial thickness, tapers as shown in Fig. 3, so that at the edges 5 it is comparatively thin.

The attachment of the body to its backing is, in this instance, effected by holes 2 formed at various points through which are passed rivets 6 securing the back in close contact with the face of the backing.

Any other suitable means of attachment may be used. For example, lugs, indicated by dotted lines .r (Fig. 4) may be provided at various points around the edge of the body 2, which lugs are perforated for the passage of rivets.

Whilst, under some circumstances, it is preferable that the back should be flat, in others it may be convex, as shown in Fig. 4, or concave, as shown in Fig. 5.

Preferably the convexity or the concavity is only slight, as it is found that the most effective results are obtained when there is little or no air space between the back of the body 2 and the backing.

Where it is desired to produce the effect of water in the vessel, or any coloured e'ect as applied to the glass body Whether in the form illustrated or of any other form, this may be obtained by applying coloured gelatine or other transparent material to the back of the body 2.

For securing other effects, metal foil may be employed, as, for example, where the body represented is assumed to be formed of gold,'in which case the whole, or such parts of the body 2 as may be necessary or desirable, have gold foil, gold leaf or the like applied to the back thereof. Other material which may be of a transparent or opaque nature according to the particular effect it is desired to secure may be employed.

Where so desired the representation other than that behind the gure may be that of a statuette, bust or the like, as in Fig. 6, the body 2 or the surface of the backing being treated in any desired manner according to the effect it is sought to produce, and the material, china, porcelain or any other material to be imitated.

In this case, if desired, the backing may be dispensed with, the desired advertising or other` matter being shown upon some convenient part of the representation, or a part or surface specially provided or treated to receive this matter. For instance, in the example shown in the gure referred to, there is a base or support 8 for the bust upon which the advertising or other matter'may appear. Alternatively, or in addition to, the base 8, a further base or extension, such as 9,shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6; may be provided. This latter part, as also part 8, may either be a part of the body 2, or be separate and have the body 2 mounted thereon.

Where the article portrayed is a bottle, the varrangement may be as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, in which case the glass or other transparent body 2 may be of the outline shown. In all cases, Where bottles and other articles are portrayed, in no instance is the body in the form of a half-section of the article, as it is found that if this is the case, the effect of completeness, that is to say, the illusion of the Whole article being secured to the backing, is destroyed. To complete the illusion, a label 9 may be stuck upon the outside of the body 2.

An opening may be formed in the backing for the passage of light, for which purpose said backing is cut away behind the body 2 providing an opening, indicated by I2, through which light may pass, the back of the body 2 having applied to it suitably coloured transparent material or materials accordingly as the contents only are coloured, or both the contents and the glass of which the bottle is made are coloured. The colour` and material employed would, of course, depend upon the supposed contents of the bottle.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 10 and 1l, the jelly consists of an appropriately shaped body, the desired colouring being produced in the manner already described in connection with the bottle and other representations, an opening I3 of any desired outline being, if required, formed in the backing for the passage of light.

Whilst, as previously stated, it is essential, where the decorated surface of the backing beneath the body 2, is to be visible, or where the body 2 has applied to the back thereof transparent or translucent material in order to secure the most effective results, that the back of the glass or other body should contact with the backing without there being any air space between them it may be that in some cases the appearance of the article will not be affected either as a whole or in any part, if the back of the body 2 is recessed at one or more points, for example, as shown in Fig. 12 or Fig. 13, where I4 and I5 indicate cavities at the back of the body 2, a third cavity IB being provided, the surface of which is of such nature as will produce a decorative or other effect when the device is viewed from the front.

The back of the body may have coloured, transparent or other material applied to it, or be otherwise treated.

The body 2 may be cast, moulded or otherwise produced, and, if desired, the material may have colour Worked into it or may be treated in any other manner such as will contribute to the ornamental appearance of the article, or to the realistic effect it is sought to produce. The backing may either be imperforate or not, as may be desired.

I claim:

1. In an advertising display device: a backing, said backing being provided with an illustration of an article, and a solid transparent body attached to said backing over said illustration, said body being in the form of the article as seen in perspective and at least a part of the back of said body conforming to the contour of the surface to which it is applied.

2. In an advertising display device: a backing, said backing being provided with illustrations of articles, and solid transparent bodies attached to said backing and each applied over the illustration of an article, each of said bodies being in the form of the article, to the illustration of which it is applied, as seen in perspective and at least a part of the back of each body conforming to the contour of the surface to which it is applied.

3. An advertising display device as claimed in claim 1, in which said transparent body has a ilat back surface.

4. An advertising display device as claimed in claim 2, in which at least a part of said transparent bodies has a at back surface.

5. In an advertising display device: a backing, said backing being provided with an advertising illustration, and a solid transparent body attached to said backing, said solid transparent body being in the form of an article as seen in perspective and covering at least a part of said illustration, and said solid transparent body having a nat back surface and a longitudinally beaded front surface.

6. In an advertising display device: a backing,

said backing being provided withan advertising illustration, and a solid transparent body attached to said backing, said solid transparent body being in the form of an article as seen in perspective and covering at least a part of said illustration, and said solid transparent body having a flat back surface and a curved front surface and being adapted to magnify the illustration covered by said body.

, 7. In an advertising display device: a backing, said backing being provided with an advertising illustration, and a solid transparent body attached to Said backing, said solid transparent body being in the form of an article as seen in perspective and covering at least a part of said illustration, said solid transparent body having a flat back surface and a longitudinally beaded front surface, and said backing being provided with an opening beneath at least a part of said transparent body.

8. In an advertising display device: a backing, said backing being provided with an advertising illustration, and a solid transparent body attached to said backing, said solid transparent body being in the form of an article as seen in perspective and covering at least a part of said illustration, said solid transparent body having a at back surface and a longitudinally beaded front surface, and an intermediate layer of colored transparent material being applied to at least a part of the back of said transparent body. 9. In an advertising display device: a backing, said backing` being provided withan advertising illustration, and a solid transparent body attached to said backing, said solid transparent body being in the form of an article as seen in perspective and covering at least a part of said illustration, said solid transparent body having a flat back surface and a longitudinally beaded front surface, an intermediate layer of colored transparent material being applied to at least a part of the back of said transparent body, and said backing being provided with an opening beneath at least a part of said transparent body.

10. In an advertising display device: a backing, said backing being provided with an advertising illustration, and a solid transparent body attached to said backing, said solid transparent body being in the form of an article as seen in perspective and covering at least a part of said illustration, said solid transparent body having a flat back surface and a curved front surface and being adapted to magnify the illustration covered by said body, and an intermediate layer of colored transparent material being applied to at least a part of the back of said` transparent body. 11. In an advertising display device: a backing, said backing being provided with an advertising illustration, and a solid transparent body attached to said backing, said solid transparent body being in the form of an article as seen in perspective and covering at least a part of said illustration, said solid transparent body having a flat back surface and a curved front surface and being adapted to magnify the illustration covered by said body, an intermediate layer of colored transparent material being applied to at least a part of the back of said transparent body, and said backing being provided with an opening beneath at least a part of said transparent body.

WILLIAM JOHN FRENCH. 

